Easy Jack Session IPA | Firestone Walker Brewing Co.

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Appearance: Clear golden body beneath a frothy head of white. The head drops relatively shortly but continues to maintain a solid surface covering for quite some time. The lacing is limited in the same way. It'll initially leave spots and streaks with each sip, but as it sits they seem to turn back to liquid and disappear.

Aroma: Citrusy over a lightly sweet grainy malt base.

Flavor: Lots of grapefruit with some other tropical notes (mango, pineapple, melon) and some mild pine and resin. The malt is right behind it, and full enough that it doesn't seem hollow like many session IPAs (the ones that are almost like hop water). It's got a very firm bitterness to it, and it's nicely balanced. The fruity and piney/grassy hops linger in the finish along with a dollop of doughy malt for seemingly forever.

Mouthfeel: Modem bodied and smooth with a just slightly less than standard carbonation level.

Overall: Impressive. It's loaded with flavor even as a pale ale, and then amped up in hop flavor to morph it into an "IPA". Quite possibly the best "session IPA" I've ever tasted.

This is the best "session" IPA I've had. As usual, it's not fair to compare it to a "real" IPA, but it's remarkable for what it is. If Firestone Walker puts this in cans, I would probably keep this stocked all summer.

Bottled 4/14/14: Pours crystal clear yellow color with small half finger foamy snow white head that was full of tiny bubbles and faded kind of quick, leaving very nice foamy rings as it went down.

Smells of fresh grapefruit, lemon zest, citrus hops, tangerine, light malt, light caramel, and very potent citrus fruit. Not very balanced, but it had a really nice citrus aroma that was soft and pleasing.

Tastes of fresh grapefruit, lemon zest, citrus hops, tangerine, light malt or biscuit, light caramel, piney hops, grass, and more citrus fruit at the end with subtle spices like pepper and coriander; easy to put down and very damn tasty for a light alcohol beer.

Mouthfeel is very light and a tad too thin, but I don’t mind since it’s a session IPA. Mild to average carbonation, a light body and a smooth feel that slides down easy and leaves a slightly bitter aftertaste and a little citrus zest.

Firestone Walker nails the session IPA where it counts: the aroma and the taste. I’d love to try this side by side with Founders All Day IPA and Lagunitas Daytime IPA to see who the king of session IPA’s is; IMO this brew is right up there with those 2 and better than the Stone, Goose Island and Sierra Nevada session IPA’s. A definite recommendation, as this bottle was 2 months old and still tasted extremely fresh and hoppy.

Pours a light straw to light orange color. Thin white foam head that dissipates quickly leaving a light thin lacing down the glass. Smells of light fresh citrus and mild floral notes. Very fresh and vibrant to smell. First sip has a mild hoppy bite but that is very easy on the palette. Taste of fresh citrus, orange and light lemon in particular along with some sweet pineapple but that is minimal. I am picking up a little bit of the floral on the tastebuds but not as much as I got on the nose. Also getting a little pine, very little tho. No real malt presence on this one but the beer is balanced none the less. As the beer warms the sweet citrus becomes more pronounced. Light mouthfeel that finishes dry. Everything about this beer says Summer. I like it a lot. It is a very well engineered beer by FW. Cheers

Just awful. Almost no malt to support the hops. It's like somebody took a good pale ale and watered it down.

I was excited when I saw two Firestone tap handles at a concert I just went to. My spirits fell, however, when I saw that it was the bland 805 and Easy Jack, which I had never had. Now I have had it. Will not drink again.

Seriously, any other Firestone beers except for the Terrible Two would have been welcome. On to the review...

Beer was served on draft at The Grove of Anaheim. Beer is a moderate orange-golden, very clear with a minimal head. This is by far the best thing about the experience of drinking this beer.

Aroma is weak and thin, with citric hops and a candy sweetness.

Flavor is thin: minimal malt presence to back up the hops. Like a proper IPA cut with water then dry hopped. The flavor is nearly all hop and is one dimensional. More bitterness than this brew can handle comfortably on the finish. Totally disagreeable.

Mouthfeel is average for this kind of beer, medium-bodied with adequate carbonation.

Overall, I will never drink this thin, watery, over-hopped misfire again.

The flavor follows with tangerine peel, lemon, kumquat, tons of peel quality. It has new age hops of almost Mosaic and Galaxy characteristics. There is a very light malt quality along with fresh herbacious of tea and some grass. Almost a tannin quality of drying along with light bitterness.

Appearance: Arrives clear and golden colored with a modest but sticky head; very nice lacing action

Smell: Fruity and bright, with a hint of grass; tropical fruit tones dominant

Taste: Just a touch of malt to propel the hops forward, with tropical fruit tones of papaya and mango, as well as melon and stone fruit; slightly grassy, through the middle; citrusy bitterness builds along with a dry finish

Suddenly, in 2014, session ales, especially session IPAs, are all over the place. This one is very pale, with an airy half-inch head (vigorous pour into a pint glass). The aroma is appropriately packed with piney, grassy hop scents, though as usual in these "session" beers, there's much less malt. The taste is packed with bitterness and resin hop flavor. For hop-heads, this is a dang good drinking beer. The body is very light, as one would expect considering their aims. You can pack these back one after another. Great drinking beer, in other words.

Appearance: A one finger head was poured that reduced to a thin layer. It is a pale yellow color with great clarity and vision of bubbles coming up through the glass. Frothy lacing down the glass as the beer was drank.

from a can to a beer tulip
look; clear golden, good 1" head that left moderate lacing
smell; tremendous, grassy fruity and to a lessor extent floral and citrusy hops, some honeydew and earthy grass, melongrass lemon?, maybe the sweetness of the malt compliments the hops, honey roll malt smell is mild but present
taste; melon, grass prevail, but other hops flavors and sweet malt well represented
feel; like most session IPAs the bottom is lacking, but not as much so as in a lot of others, medium light body, moderate carbonation
overall; a great full flavored summer session IPA

ON TAP, Probably my favorite session ipa to date. Really is quite unique in aroma, with tons of tropical fruit notes, only 4.5 but easily had the flavor of a normal ipa. It is a bit light on the finish as you may expect, but compared to other session ipa's it packs a great flavor. GREAT BEER, hope to try in can fresh sometime